Automatic closing means for roller fire-shutters.



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MPUCMH ''iLED MAY 22, 1916.

Patented Aug. 2l, 1917.

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/l TTOH/VEV W. G. MILLER.

AuTnMATlc CLOSING MEANS FOR ROLLER FIRE SHUTTERS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 22| 1916.

Patented. Aug. 2L 19W.

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'illILlLCliLldl/Il G'. MILLER, OF TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, ASSIGNOR OFONE-THIRD TO MALCOLM .,T. MCLEOD AND ONE-THIRD TO WILLIAM J. HOUSTON,BOTH OF DETROIT,

MJECHIGr.

AUTOMATIC CLOSING MEANS FOR ROLLER FIRE-SHUTTERS.

Application led May 22, 1916.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM G. MILLER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Toronto, in the county of York, Province of Ontario, Canada,have invented certain ne W and useful Improvements in Automatic ClosingMeans for Roller Fire-Shutters, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to roller fire shutters and consists in the novelfeatures of construction and association of parts as hereinafter setforth and claimed.

The invention has for its object the provision of simple and improvedmeans for application to fire doors or shutters carried upon rollersoperated by counter-balanclng springs restrained under a Windingtension, wherein provision is made for associating With thecounter-balancing spring Within the roller an auxiliary floating or idlespring, which is normally set and restrained under tension independentof said roller by locking means releasable upon a dangerous rise intemperature, and which is provided with engageable gripping means forefecting a driving connection `With said roller to impart movementthereto against the tension of the counterbalancing spring to start anddrive said shutter downwardly and causev it to close automatically inevent of fire.A l Y, .j

In the accompanying drawings, a preferred embodiment of the novel andessential features ofthe present invention is illustrated, and-in which,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a portion of a Wall having a door or.opening therein equipped With a'shutter embodying my improved featuresof construction.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the housing for the shutter containing theroller and showing the releasable locking means for restraining theauxiliary spring therein.

Fig. 3 is a central horizontal longitudinal section through the housingand roller, the auxiliary spring shaft and locking disk being shown inelevation.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional detail through the end ofthe roller containing the auxiliary spring, the shaft upon which it isanchored and the chuck orl gripping head in the roller carrying a slidlable nut threaded on the shaft through which a driving connection isestablished between the spring and roller.

- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 21, 1917.

Serial No. 99,202.`

Fig. 5 isa cross-section through the roller on dotted lines 3 3 of Fig.4.

Referring to the parts by the characters of reference marked on thedrawings, 1 indicates a Wall having a door-Way or opening 2 therein,provided on opposite sides with angular guide-strips 3. Mounted on heads4 and 5, suitably secured to the Wall above the opening, is-an elongatedhousing 6 containing a barrel or roller 7 upon which a' iiexible apronor shutter 8 is suitably mounted (as is common, but not shown) to Windthereon and to travel with its edges in the guide-strips 3. The ends ofthe roller are closed by collars 9 and 10 secured therein by screws 11.(See Fig. 3.) Extending freely through the collar 9, and through a hub12 on the head 4, is a stub shaft 13, which is anchored against rotationin said hub by a pin 14 extending therethrough. Fixed on the inner endof this shaft by a pin 15 is a collar 16, and embracing said collar, andanchored thereto by said pin at one end, is a coiled spring 17, theopposite end of Which embraces and is connected by a pin 18 to a plug19, which is secured within the roller by screws as at '20. This springoperates upon the roller to counter -balance the lWeight of the shutterand is set under the required tension by rotating and locking the shaft13 to normally retain the shutter in the raised position upon theroller.

To provide means for automatically lowering the shutter When raisedinthe event of iire, Without requiring the release of thecounter-balancing spring, or interfering with its operation in normallycontrolling the shutter. the following mechanism is employed. l (SeeFig. 4.) Rotatably embraced by the end of the roller adjacent the head 5of the housing, is a bearing sleeve 21 having a shoulder 22 whichengages the inner face of the collar 10, and also has a reduced eX-tension 23 which passes freely through said collar and is fitted to andseated at its outer end in an angular aperture 24 formed in the hub 25of said head, in Which it is anchored against rotation and forms abearing on which the collar 10 rotates in carrying the end of theroller. Extending freely through the sleeve 21. and Well into thecorresponding end of the roller. is a shaft 26 which is held againstoutward axial movement by means of a pin 27 extended through the shaftand engaging a washer 28 bearing on the inner end of said sleeve. Theinner end of the shaft 26, which is exteriorly screw threaded as at` 29,extends through and is journaled to rotate in a chuck or gripping head30 which fits closely within and is fixedly secured to the roller 7 byscrews 31.

Formed in the innermost end of the chuck or head 30, and extendingaxially into the body thereof is an enlarged socket 32 having angularside walls which embrace the correspondingly shaped edges of a nut 33engaged with the threads 29 of the shaft 26. Said nut is locked againstrotation in 'said head by engagement with the walls thereof but is freeto travel on said threads and to slide longitudinally of said socket inpermitting relative rotary movement of the shaft and roller, andinterposed between the nut and the end wall ofthe socket is a cushioningwasher 34, which receives the thrust of the nut when it reaches thelimit of its inward travel in said socket. rihe shaft 26 is held againstlongitudinal movement through the head 30, under the drawing strain ofthe nut therein, by a Collar 35 which is secured upon said shaft by apin 36 to abut against the outer end of said head and receive thejamming thrust of the nut, through the clamping action of which upon thehead a locked driving connection in one direction is established betweenthe shaft and roller.

Rotary driving force is exerted upon the shaft 26 in a reverse directionto that exerted by the counterbalancing spring upon the roller by anauxiliary coiled spring 3? contained within the 'roller and whichembraces at one end the'collar 35 of said shaft to which 1t 1s securedby the pin 36, and ceives 1n its opposite end the inner end of the fixedsleeve 21 to which it is anchored by a pin 38. The shaft is normallyreleasably locked under a suitable unwinding tension stored in thespring, by means of a dish 39 which is fixed by a pin 40 to the outerend of said shaft adjacent the head 5 of the housing and carries thereona plurality of laterally projecting circumferentially spaced lugs 41each of which has a bore 42 for the reception of a radially projectinglocking pin 43. The projecting end of this pin (see Figs. l and 2) isnormally' engaged with an inclined shoulder 44 formed` in the inner edgeof a right angled latch lever 45, the upper end of which is pivoted tohang vertically upon a stud 46 anchored in a bearing bracket 47projecting from the head 5 of the housing, and the lower end of thislever extends inwardly horizontally of the housing and carries a weight4S by which itis caused to swing outwardly to disengage the locking pin43. rIhe inward. movement of the latch lever is limited by engagementwith a stop lug 49 on the head of the housing, and the -tated in adirection to draw and jam the nut lever is normally held against thisstop and with its shoulder 44 engaged with the locking pin 43 by meansof a cable 50 connected to said lever and to a fixed support 5l, andwhich also embraces a soft metal link 52 fusible at a given temperatureto release the locking means. The operation of the device will now beunderstood as follows:

T he auxiliary spring being set under tension, and restrained by itsshaft and the locking means therefor, will be inoperative to effect thenormal operation of the roller in raising and lowering the shutter underthe influence of the counterbalancing spring, for the reason that thenut 33 will be free to travel outwardly in the socket and upon thethreads of the shaft 2G with the rotation of the roller in lowering theshutter, and inwardly thereof with a reverse movement of the roller inraising the shutter. The lead of the threads 29v is such with respect tothe number of revolutions of the roller necessary to carry the shutterthe required distance, together with the depth of the socket 82 and theposition of the nut therein, that an intervening space is left betweenthe nut and cushioning washer when the shutter shall have reahed thelimit of its upward travel. This space permits of a slight idle travelof the nut as well as the shaft when being further drawn by the rotationof said shaft into engagement with the cushioning washer, whereby, whensaid shaft is released through the fusing of the linl and through theresultant disengagement of the latch lever from the locking pin of thedisk, it will receive the stored force of the auxiliiary spring by whichit will be rapidly rointo locking engagement with cushionii'ig .vasher.lbetween which and collar on said shaft a driving connection wiil beestablished with the gripping head and roller. The roller will thus beabruntiv started through the force cf impact ci ne 35m; strikingengagement of the nut and will be caused to rotate in a direction tolower the shutter against the tension-of the counterbalancing spring.`which latter spring, by reason of the increasingv tension stored thereonas the shutter descends, will serve to cushion the shock as said shutterreaches the limit of its downward travel. In this position the auxiliaryspring will have spent its force and the shaft will remain idlepermitting the nut to ride outwardly and inwardiy thereon and enablingthe shutter to be further raised and lowered under the control of thecounterbalancing spring.

Having thus fully set forth my invention, claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent as follows: l. in means for closing fireshutters, combination of a roller. a shutter mounted thereon, a bearinghead fixed in said roller 13a and having an angular axial opening theref1n, a nut slidably seated in said opening, a

rotatable shaft extending into said roller and through said bearing headand having screw threaded engagement with the nut therein, means torestrain said shaft against axial movement through said head, a coiledspring connected to said shaft and to a fixed support, releasablelocking means for reing the threaded end of said shaft, a collar on saidshaft abutting against said bearing head, a coiled spring connected withsaid Collar and with said sleeve, a nut non-rotatably and slidablyseated in saidbearing head and having screw threaded engagement withsaid shaft,fsaid nutbeing adapted to normally travel on said shaftwiththe rotation of said roller and to be drawn into locking engagement withsaid head through the rotation Aof said shaft in one direction, a diskfixed on said shaft andhaving a locking pin t thereon, a latchleverreleasably engaging said pin and restraining said disk and shaft againstrotation under the tension of said spring, and restraining means forretaining said, latch lever engaged and releasable therewith upon adangerous rise in temperature.

In testimony7 whereof I sign this specification.

WILLIAM Gf. MILLER.

